Don Brinkerhoff
Don Brinkerhoff began his broadcasting career in 1994 in Cedar City, where he was hired to schedule the station’s commercials and run the board for station broadcasts. It didn’t take long before he was writing newscasts and reporting on everything from the police beat to city council meetings. In 1997, Brinkerhoff was recruited to Salt Lake to serve as a reporter, and afternoon news anchor for a new news/talk radio station.
When the company decided to close its newsroom in 2000, Brinkerhoff came to KSL and began working as the overnight editor. Being the only ‘live’ body in the newsroom overnight meant Brinkerhoff learned how to do it all; operating the control board, keeping the station’s programming on the air, editing news scripts for use during Utah’s Morning News, and covering any stories that broke overnight.
In 2019, he was asked to lead KSL Newsradio’s Operations Team in addition to his overnight responsibilities, taking over supervision of KSL’s board operators, and a few other things.
In 2023, he was moved from the overnight shift to a day shift and was asked to take on expanded reporting duties and provide more original content for Utah’s Morning News. While he doesn’t spend as much of his time editing the content of others, he’s still an approved editor and helps with a few stories each week.
Brinkerhoff is a martial arts instructor and has earned an eighth-degree black belt in the Kamagong martial arts system. In 2004, he was inducted into the Filipino Martial Arts Hall of Fame as Instructor of the Year. In 2001, the Excel Karate League declared Brinkerhoff the Judge of the Year.
He may be best known for his Superman fanaticism. He’s read Superman comic books and collected Superman memorabilia since he was a little kid, and most people wonder if he’s ever grown up.
Brinkerhoff and his wife Alayna have been married for over 30 years and have five children and one grandchild.
Follow Don on Facebook or Instagram. Contact him at dbrinkerhoff@ksl.com.
Read more stories by Don Brinkerhoff and meet the rest of the KSL NewsRadio team.